Kat Von D Katherine von Drachenberg was born on March 8, 1982 in Monterey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Though her father (Rene Von Drachenberg) is of German descent and her mother (Sylvia Galeano) has Spanish-Italian roots, both her parents are native Argentinians. Kat has two siblings, a sister named Karoline and a brother named Michael.
Kat grew up in the Inland Empire and her first tattoo was at the age of 14, an old english "J" on her ankle, a moment of a love gone by. Shortly thereafter, realizing her natural ability, in early 1996 her friends asked her to pick up the machine and get to work on them (her first effort was a misfits skull with a homemade rig), the tattooing wasn't easy but she knew it felt right and she wanted to persue it. In 1998, she began working in her first professional shop, Sin City Tattoo, a local place in her neighborhood. A year and a half later, she moved on to Blue Bird Tattoo in Pasadena for a year. After this she moved onto Red Hot Tattoo in Arcadia. A great period of growth came when she began to work at Inflictions, a shop in West Covina, CA. She eventually moved down to True Tattoo which gave her a chance to work with Clay Decker and Chris Garver. This was an honor and a great opportunity and anyone who had known Kat over the course of her career to that point knew that not only did she deserve the chance but was sincere and talented enough to add to the the already high standards of the shop. This gave her the chance to live and work in Hollywood, the heart of the city that she loves, Los Angeles.
=
Although she has been a successful tattoo artist for nearly ten years, Kat Von D (real name Katherine Von Drachenberg) did not become well-known nor widely popular across America until "Miami Ink" premiered on the TLC channel last year. In 2005, Kat joined "Miami Ink" for its first season on the air. The only woman in a shop consisting of all men, Kat relocated from Los Angeles to work side by side along owners Ami James and Chris Nunez, and renowned artists Chris Carver and Darren Brass. However, two years later in 2007 she decided to leave the show due to personal differences between her and Ami.**
=
The move back to Los Angeles prompted her to open her own shop, High Voltage, and resulted in TLC deciding to film her on location there in a new show called "L.A. Ink" which premiered August 8, 2007. But Kat Von D was a superstar in her own right well before her television notoriety began. She has worked in tattoo parlors throughout California. Her personal website is filled with fanart from those who know and love her, and the Kat Von D fan club boasts over 4,000 members. It's president, Tanya, appeared in an episode of "Miami Ink" when she arrived at the shop to get a tattoo of a pin-up girl which she wanted designed to look like Kat. She is best known for her black-and-white portraits but specializes also in realistic art tattoos, drawing and photography.
Kat grew up in the Inland Empire and her first tattoo was at the age of 14, an old english "J" on her ankle, a moment of a love gone by. Shortly thereafter, realizing her natural ability, in early 1996 her friends asked her to pick up the machine and get to work on them (her first effort was a misfits skull with a homemade rig), the tattooing wasn't easy but she knew it felt right and she wanted to persue it. In 1998, she began working in her first professional shop, Sin City Tattoo, a local place in her neighborhood. A year and a half later, she moved on to Blue Bird Tattoo in Pasadena for a year. After this she moved onto Red Hot Tattoo in Arcadia. A great period of growth came when she began to work at Inflictions, a shop in West Covina, CA. She eventually moved down to True Tattoo which gave her a chance to work with Clay Decker and Chris Garver. This was an honor and a great opportunity and anyone who had known Kat over the course of her career to that point knew that not only did she deserve the chance but was sincere and talented enough to add to the the already high standards of the shop. This gave her the chance to live and work in Hollywood, the heart of the city that she loves, Los Angeles.
=
Although she has been a successful tattoo artist for nearly ten years, Kat Von D (real name Katherine Von Drachenberg) did not become well-known nor widely popular across America until "Miami Ink" premiered on the TLC channel last year. In 2005, Kat joined "Miami Ink" for its first season on the air. The only woman in a shop consisting of all men, Kat relocated from Los Angeles to work side by side along owners Ami James and Chris Nunez, and renowned artists Chris Carver and Darren Brass. However, two years later in 2007 she decided to leave the show due to personal differences between her and Ami.**
=The move back to Los Angeles prompted her to open her own shop, High Voltage, and resulted in TLC deciding to film her on location there in a new show called "L.A. Ink" which premiered August 8, 2007. But Kat Von D was a superstar in her own right well before her television notoriety began. She has worked in tattoo parlors throughout California. Her personal website is filled with fanart from those who know and love her, and the Kat Von D fan club boasts over 4,000 members. It's president, Tanya, appeared in an episode of "Miami Ink" when she arrived at the shop to get a tattoo of a pin-up girl which she wanted designed to look like Kat. She is best known for her black-and-white portraits but specializes also in realistic art tattoos, drawing and photography.